Loyalty of a First Mate
by TetrasTrackers
Summary: A captain is nothing without her faithful crew, and Tetra begins to understand just why. Gonzo's POV, Oneshot.


It had been a rough night, for all of us.

The storms we had to sail through had left my shipmates tired and weary of rest, and even the Miss was forcing herself to stay awake for the sake of her crew.

Trying to be as much of assistance as possible, I steered the ship to a safe area and away from rough waters.

It isn't as easy as it seems, you know, having the lives of others in the choices you make to steer a ship. But I managed to make it, and the crew, especially the Miss, were unharmed.

"Good work, Gonzo." She had praised me, as always.

It was a relief to know that she still had the strength to give me the slightest of complements then get back to check with her cremates, even though she was more than exhausted.

I couldn't help but admire somebody like her, after being what she had been through, and all.

Once the hours of the night came about, I stood guard on the deck while the rest of the crew were resting, because _somebody _had to keep them safe and it always ended up being me, as usual.

I could be here for hours before I decided to deem the place clear of threats, but somehow today was different.

Something was off about the Miss.

As hesitant as I was to leave my position, I couldn't shake the feeling away from me and it began to drive me crazy just knowing that there was something going on with Miss Tetra, and she wasn't telling any of us.

Slowly, I made my way below the decks, making sure not to wake my fellow shipmates, and boy would they get after me if I did.

"Gonzo, what are you doing up so late?" I heard Niko mumble, and quickly thought up the wittiest response possible.

"I-er...I was checking back with Zuko to see if we were still in safe waters. So go back to sleep, yeah?"

"Sure, whatever you say." He shuffled back under the covers and grumbled, as usual.

It was so typical of him to doubt even Miss Tetra, but underneath his stubborn skin was a fighter, and the Miss knew that the moment she put him aboard the ship.

The Miss was awake in her cabin, thank goodness, because I would not want to wake her up just to discuss my worries for her.

I tried my hardest to tip-toe close to the entrance, but then I heard her mumbling, "I know you're out there, Gonzo. There's no need to be sneaking around, so you may as well sit down."

Hesitantly, I walked into her cabin ans sat down on the wooden chair that was conveniently positioned in front of her.

I felt like I was being interrogated, ugh.

The Miss stopped observing her map and turned to face me, and as I expected she looked exhausted.

"Did you want to talk to me or what, Gonzo? Spit it out!" She snapped, as I leaned back a bit.

Politely as I could, I answered her, "The storms are gone, Miss. I simply wanted to ask if you were feeling alright or-"

"I'm perfectly fine, Gonzo." She turned away and pulled another map out.

"Miss, I don't believe you are-"

"Do you think I'm _lying_?" She slammed the map down onto the table, but I didn't say a word.

After standing there for a few seconds, she finally loosened herself up and sat back down.

Barely glancing back at me, she muttered, "So...you were worried, huh?"

I smiled a bit, "Very much so."

She let out a quick sigh and rubbed her forehead, "Then you'll listen to what I have to say, right?"

I chuckled a little, "I always do, Miss Tetra."

She ran her hand over the map for a moment, then turned herself to face me, "I can't understand any of these messages that my mother left behind."

She raised her voice, "How am I supposed to find that lost treasure if I can't even understand the language? Honestly Gonzo, look at this!"

She held the large paper close to my face so I could skim over it, and I barely made out letters of an odd language and a couple sketches of a castle.

I was so temped to look away, because it started to bring back memories of my days as a child with the old Captain.

Just to see what she left behind for her daughter and to see that the Miss never stopped thinking about her after all these years was a little heart-wrenching.

Noticing Tetra's hand beginning to tremble a little bit, I slipped the paper away from her and placed it back on the desk.

For a moment, she shot me a look as if she was about to scold me, but I started talking before she could have her word in, "Miss, whatever the map is trying to say, you are doing all the right things to find the treasure and I bet that is exactly what she intended."

She relaxed and I continued, "Without your guidance, we wouldn't be the group we are today. Think about that."

"I don't feel like I'm guiding you all anywhere, it's like we are aimlessly floating around." She laid her head down upon the desk, mumbling under her breath.

Trying to comfort her, I placed my hand lightly on her head, "You're doing just fine, Miss. The treasure will find us with time, so all you have to do is keep doing what you have been doing for years and we will take care of the rest, yeah?"

She looked up at me, and finally cracked a smile, "...Yeah."

I smiled back, and stood up from the chair, "It's getting late, Captain. I've got to check the deck one more time, and you should consider resting for tomorrow."

I placed my hand on her shoulder and she glanced at it, giving me a content look. I took my hand away turned away from her, but as I headed outside, I heard her voice once more, "Uh...Gonzo! I need to ask you one more question before you go check outside."

I stopped and looked over my shoulder, noticing that she wasn't looking at me and rather on her map, "Go ahead, Miss." I said politely.

She gestured me back to the chair, and while I slowly walked back to her I glanced at the portrait of her mother on my right.

It pained me to look at it, because I respected that woman so much and thanks to her guidance, she made me the pirate I am now.

We never liked to talk about it, because all of us, especially Miss Tetra, missed her deeply.

"Do you think that I am a good captain, Gonzo? You said it before, that I was doing alright, but..." She let out a deep sigh, "I don't feel like I am."

She attempted to hide her worries by drumming on the desk, but that wasn't good enough to fool me. What bothered me was that she even pondered such a question!

She was a perfect captain, and there was no reason for her to doubt that.

"Miss, you've never steered us wrong before. What made you question yourself all of a sudden?"

She rubbed her forehead, "It's just that...days like yesterday made me doubt my choices that I made for you all."

I shook my head, disagreeing with her in every way possible, "Miss, I know you are the captain, but I'm going to order you to _never _doubt your abilities ever again."

"But Gonzo, I-"

I stood back up and rolled my eyes, "I'm sorry Miss, but until you can look me in the eye and say that you are fit to captain this ship, I won't answer your question."

She sat up in frustration, "Gonzo, where are you going?"

"I'm going to be on deck if you need me, Miss." I mumbled, and although I wasn't upset with her, I wanted to show her how much she meant to the crew and to me, so in hopes she would be curious and follow behind, I headed back out to deck.

The door swung out in front of me, nearly hitting my face if I didn't step back in time.

I looked down to see Zuko, who looked as if he was going to collapse from exhaustion.

"Hey brother, you should consider heading below and getting some rest. I'll check the deck one last time, yeah?"

I knelt down at placed my hand on his head, which he was probably too tired to notice, and he could barely make out saying "sure" to me before he slowly walked to his bed.

I continued to watch and make sure he would get there without running into anything, and luckily he didn't.

The cold air hit me like a cannon as I shuffled my way up to the wheel of the ship, looking down below at what was so empty and barren at the time, but by morning would be bustling with my shipmates usual antics.

Taking my eyes away from the ship, I looked at what lied ahead of us in the Great Sea.

The storms had passed and the seas were in a perfect condition to be sailing in, despite the cold weather.

I started to yawn a little, and I suppose I had a good reason to be tired seeing as I am crazy enough to stay away after everybody else.

Maybe it wasn't all bad, considering that I began to hear footsteps coming from behind me, "So, you want an answer now, Miss?" I joked.

She approached me and stood by my side, looking down, "You're right, Gonzo."She sighed, "I shouldn't be questioning something I already know."

"What, that you're a good captain?" I asked, a bit confused.

"No, not that." She shook her head and looked me in the eyes, smiling, "It's that I have the best crew a captain could ask for."

I didn't expect such an answer from her, and proudly smiled back.

Yawning again, I walked away from the wheel and to her side, "We should probably get going, we have a big day tomorrow."

She crossed her arms and nodded, "Right! Niko's got to finish up his training, too..."

As we headed back to the cabins, Tetra stopped me for a moment, "Oh! I forgot to tell you something I should have said earlier."

"What would that be, Miss?"

She looked at the floor for a moment, then back to me, "Thank you, for what you said before."

I smiled and saluted to her, "You're quite welcome, Captain Tetra."

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><p><strong>I hope you enjoy it, Blue!<strong> **:)**


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